MS Dhoni believes spinners will play a huge role in Tests against West Indies

India’s limited-overs captain, MS Dhoni, who retired from Test cricket in December 2014, today spoke about India’s upcoming Test tour of the West Indies and remarked that the spinners would a major role in the Caribbean. As reported by the Hindu, at an event on Wednesday in New Delhi, Dhoni said that India now have a pool of 8 to 10 genuine fast bowlers, something that the former Test captain finds very impressive. It must be remembered that Dhoni had led the Indian team to victory on their previous assignment to the West Indies when the team had won the four-match Test series 1-0 in 2011.

“I think wickets will be slower in West Indies but you never know. I think spinners will have a huge role to play,” said the 35-year-old who seems to be enjoying his break from international cricket, as India are not scheduled to play any limited-overs cricket before October.

Talking about the contingent of the fast bowlers that the team has, Dhoni quipped, “The more the competition better it is. It’s good that finally we have a pool of 8-10 bowlers who are pushing for selection. If I look at a year back, during an ODI series against South Africa, there were a few bowlers who were injured. And we have bowlers with all areas covered. If you want pace we have that. If you want swing, we have that. Of course, we have to be careful about injury management.”

The event that Dhoni was speaking at was about his company Rhiti Sports’ tie-up with a company named Secured Venture Capital, owned by former Australian fast bowler Craig McDermott. The Ranchi-born cricketer also went on to praise the Indian batting line-up and said that India’s batting has a lot of quality as well.

“We have a settled top six batting. There can be one or two new faces but more or less that’s how the mix works. They have also played outside the subcontinent and have the necessary experience," he added.

I miss Test cricket but don’t regret retiring: Dhoni

As the conversation moved on to his absence from the Test team for close to two years now, and the question as to he misses Test cricket or not, Dhoni said that while he does miss Test cricket, he doesn’t regret the fact that he doesn’t play the longest format anymore.

“Obviously, you miss playing Test cricket. But I don’t regret it. Look, for cricketers, it’s a passion or call it a bug that stays with you forever. It never leaves you. That’s why you are all these 40 and 50 plus cricketers who come back for commentary, coaching junior teams. As far as I am concerned, this gives me a chance to spend time with my family,” said the cricketer.

“The time away from cricket has given me a lot of time to plan my off-season. I hit the gym more, do a lot of running, taking care of my body. Now, after 30, you need to be careful of your body. In the last 10 years of extensive travelling, I have abused my body a lot. It’s because of eating habits as it’s more about what you intake that creates a problem. So I have been taking care of my body,” the cricketer concluded.